Saturday, October 03, 2015

7.5 million Going Hungry As Ethiopia Famine Crisis Worsens

(Translated from Agence Free Presse)Addis Ababa - The number of Ethiopians affected by famine and needing food aid has risen sharply with around 7.5 million people now in need, aid officials said Friday. The situation is worsening daily and is caused by failure of the annual rains added to the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon .

You know what this means readers? Another shite record from Band Aid coming up this Christmas

The number needing help has nearly doubled since August this year when the United Nations said 4.5 million were in need. UN representatives are now warning that without action some "15 million people will require food assistance" next year, more than inside war-torn Syria.

"Without a robust response supported by the international community, there is a high probability of a significant food insecurity and nutrition disaster," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said in a report.

The UN children's agency, Unicef, has warned of over 300,000 children being in a severely malnourished state by the end of they year.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), which makes detailed technical assessments of hunger, predicted a harvest "well below average" for the Horn Of Africa region in its latest report.

"Unusual livestock deaths continue to be reported," FEWS NET said. "With smaller herds, few sellable livestock, and almost no income other than charcoal and firewood sales, households are unable to afford adequate quantities of food."

Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation, borders the Horn of Africa nation of Somalia, where some 855,000 people face need "life-saving assistance", according to the UN, warning that 2.3 million more people there are "highly vulnerable".

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